The Great Western Conference was a victim of declining enrolling and the emergence of 8 man football. First they lost Washburn, Ewen went 8 man, then Wakefield-Marenisco dropped football and combined with Bessemer to form the Gogebic Miners, then Ontonagon went 8 man followed by Baraga the next season and then finally Forest Park went 8 man to put the nail in the Great Western Conference's coffin. They went from 9 teams in the Conference in 2008 to only 3 at the end in 2015 , Lake Linden, Hurley, and Gogebic.